Seib & Wessel: What We’re Reading Friday

Fred Barnes (@FredBarnes) writes that presidents often try to change the subject when they are in trouble, but that President Barack Obama has limited ability to change the topic of conversation away from Obamacare. He has had too few foreign-policy successes to make the traditional pivot in that direction, and the health story is too compelling for the press to turn away. [Weekly Standard]

President Obama’s last campaign — to save the Affordable Care Act — may be his toughest, says Dan Balz (@danbalz). “It is about competency and delivering on promises.” he says. In a sense, the president is running against himself and the exaggerated promises he made to the public. [Washington Post]

If Obamacare goes down, there will be little left of the social-democratic brand of American liberalism introduced by President Obama that was designed to expand the role of government, enlarge the welfare state and create more new entitlements, writes Charles Krauthammer (@krauthammer). [Washington Post]

If current monetary policies fail to deliver an adequate economic recovery by next year, political pressure to break the taboo that separates monetary and fiscal policies could become overwhelming and central bank independence will be doomed, columnist Anatole Kaletsky (@Kaletsky) writes. [Reuters]

Kshama Sawant, a Seattle socialist who campaigned for Seattle’s city council on a promise to lead the fight for a $15-an-hour minimum wage, has opened a 1,148-vote lead in the citywide count, has more than 50% of the vote and is getting closer to clinching a seat. [The Nation]

All over the world, protests South African novelist J.M. Coetzee, universities are under pressure to turn themselves into training schools equipping the young with skills required by a modern economy at the cost of the traditional humanities. “We need institutions where teachers and students can pursue unconstrained the life of the mind because such institutions are, in ways that are difficult to pin down, good for all of us: good for the individual and good for society,” he says. [Mail & Guardian]

The GOP and the Catholic Church share a similar “brand problem,” and Republicans should follow Pope Francis‘s lead in fixing it, Ron Fournier (@ron_fournier) says. The pope has reached out to those marginalized by the church, made himself more approachable, and taken on his base in his efforts to[ revamp the church – and Republicans must do the same, Fournier writes. [National Journal]

The majority of Americans, 61%, believe more than one man was responsible for President John F. Kennedy’s death, the lowest level found since 1966. The Mafia, U.S. government, and CIA top Americans’ list of potential conspirators. [Gallup]

U.S. household debt rose more in the third quarter than any quarter in the past five years, but remains 11% below the pre-recession peak. [WSJ]

China has 20% of the world’s population, but 7% of its fresh water supplies. [Quartz]

There is $1.65 in spare change inside the average American car when it is shredded and recycled. [NPR]

Both of the front runners in Chile’s presidential election on Sunday are women. [WSJ]

U.S.-born African-Americans made up 8.5% of Major League Baseball’s opening rosters this season, down from 19% in 1986. [New York Times]

People lose about 30% of their ability to taste when in the air, due to dry cabin conditions and high-altitude pressure inside airplanes. [WSJ]

Louisiana and Arkansas will see their annual precipitation drop by as much as 12% in the next 20 years and beyond, a U.S. National Climate Assessment report predicts. [Weather.com]

Forty years ago, the Tennessee Valley Authority got more than 80% of its power from coal; today, it’s 38% and dropping fast. [WSJ]

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Washington Wire is one of the oldest standing features in American journalism. Since the Wire launched on Sept. 20, 1940, the Journal has offered readers an informal look at the capital. Now online, the Wire provides a succession of glimpses at what’s happening behind hot stories and warnings of what to watch for in the days ahead. The Wire is led by Reid J. Epstein, with contributions from the rest of the bureau. Washington Wire now also includes Think Tank, our home for outside analysis from policy and political thinkers.